Media content delivery systems often provide a combination of basic and premium services. Basic services may include a standard package of broadcast television channels while premium services may include Video on Demand (VOD) services where a subscriber may select premium content, e.g., a recent movie or sports event, to be delivered for viewing. Upon selection of VOD content, the content is supplied to customer premise equipment, e.g., a set top box at the subscriber's residence. While many VOD systems are directed to supplying premium content, some VOD systems, including Network Personal Video Recorders (Network PVRs), also sometimes called Network Digital Video Recorders (NDVRs), allow a user to store content, e.g., personal photos, video images, etc. and/or other content on a network storage device and retrieve the information, e.g., for display, on demand. As VOD and Network PVR technology advances, there is a need for new services and methods of using the technology to justify the cost of continuing development and the cost of adding ever greater functionality and storage capacity to the systems.
Existing VOD servers used by the cable industry today tend to support standardized protocols which can be used to control the delivery of ordered content. Examples of such protocols include the ISA protocol suite which is part of the Interactive Services Architecture that was developed for cable companies with the purpose of supporting VOD services. These particular protocols are generally referred to as ISA protocols and include a Lightweight Streaming Control Protocol (ISA LSCP), ISA Session Set Up protocol (ISA SSP) and various other ISA protocols. ISA protocols are described at www.interactiveservices.org. Time Warner Cable's Session Setup Protocol (SSP) Version 2.3 dated May 19, 2003 and Lightweight Stream Control Protocol (LSCP) Version 1.1 dated Sep. 5, 2003 which are available at the www.interactiveservices.org website are both hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety. Additional information on ISA Lightweight service protocols is provided in: 1) the LSCP Implementation Specification Version 1.0 dated Apr. 12, 2004 (TWC-LSCPI-SP-1.0); 2) CableLabs Video-On-Demand Content Specification 1.1 (MD-SP-VOD-CONTENT1.1-I03-040107 dated Jan. 7, 2004 and 3) CableLabs Asset Distribution Interface Specification Version 1.1 (MD-SP-ADI1.1-I03-040107 dated Jan. 7, 2004 each of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety. A derivative system which uses ISA commands to implement VOD functionality which is also used by many cable companies is the OpenStream system described at www.tandbergtv.com which is an on-demand digital service platform and related protocols that allow cable operators to provide on-demand video services. These cable industry standards are used to provide the backend management functions and interface/APIs for many VOD systems currently in use by the cable industry today. Backend management functions may include such things as, session set up, controlling delivery authorization for users, network personal video recorder (NPVR) functions, and billing functions. Control of delivery may include supporting one or more NPVR features, in response commands received from a customer premise equipment (CPE) device.
Recent advances in broadband network used to deliver IP packet streams and IP devices, such as personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), etc. have opened up new opportunities for the delivery of content, e.g., video on-demand. IP devices often rely on Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) signaling to control on-demand streaming. RTSP is a client-server multimedia presentation control protocol, designed to address the need for efficient delivery of streamed multimedia over IP networks. RTSP is described in the Internet Society's Network Working Group Request for Comments (RFC) 2326 dated 1998 which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Video on demand (VOD) systems allow users to select and watch video content over a network. Some VOD systems “stream” content for real-time viewing. Others “download” the content to a set-top box before viewing starts. Use of digital video recorders (DVRs), also known as personal video recorders (PVRs), such as the TiVo® device (registered mark of TiVo Brands LLC, Alviso, Calif.) and the R Replay TV® device (registered mark of Digital Networks North America Inc., Pine Brook, N.J.), is ubiquitous. Such devices may provide some benefits to TV viewers. For example, one known DVR allows a user to record his or her favorite TV programs for later review, and to exercise a season-pass-like option wherein every episode of his or her favorite program is recorded for some period. Such devices may automatically record programs for the user based on his or her viewing habits and preferences. The presentation of the recorded programming content can be manipulated by exercising rewind, pause, skip and/or fast-forward functions (hereinafter referred to as “trick mode” or “trick play” functions) furnished by the DVR.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,073,189 of McElhatten, et al. is entitled “Program guide and reservation system for network based digital information and entertainment storage and delivery system.” The disclosure of the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 7,073,189 of McElhatten, et al. is expressly incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. A “network PVR (NPVR)” (also sometimes referred to as an NDVR (Network Digital Video Recorder)) service allows the user to perform the analogous DVR functions through use of a network, rather than via a local DVR at the user premises. Unlike a DVR device, the NPVR service allows a user to “reserve” past and future programs for his or her review, even if such reserved programs were not identified by the user before their broadcast.
Note that a NDVR can be distinguished from a DVR in that the latter, storage of programs and the like is limited to being local to the DVR, while in the former (NDVR) case, storage is available at the server or head end level where such storage normally occurs in the case of a NDVR. However, it should be appreciated that in NDVR systems some local content storage may also be supported but that such content storage tends to be more limited than that available on the network.
US Patent Publication 2004/0103429 A1 of Carlucci et al. is entitled “Technique for delivering entertainment programming content including commercial content therein over a communications network.” The disclosure of the aforesaid US Patent Publication 2004/0103429 A1 of Carlucci et al. is expressly incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. The Carlucci et al. publication discloses that although personal video recorders (also known as digital video recorders) provide certain conveniences to viewers of programming content, such devices facilitate manipulation or “skipping” of commercials, frustrating the intent of the advertisers of the commercials. In accordance with the Carlucci et al. invention, when a user fast-forwards (or rewinds) a commercial, alternate commercial(s) may be accessed for display in place of the original commercial, which provides a full impression of the goods and service promoted, otherwise impossible to appreciate at the fast-forward (or rewind) speed. The duration of the alternate commercial(s) corresponds to the duration of the original commercial at the fast-forward (rewind) speed controlled by the user. With the Carlucci et al. invention, the user advantageously realizes the convenience of manipulating programming content, and at the same time can appreciate the full impression of an alternate commercial to the original commercial, albeit in a shorter duration.
US Patent Publication 2005/0060745 A1 of Riedl et al. is entitled “System and method for advertisement delivery within a video time shifting architecture.” The disclosure of the aforesaid US Patent Publication 2005/0060745 A1 of Riedl et al. is expressly incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. The Riedl et al. publication discloses systems and methods for creating a program for delivery to a client in a video time shifting architecture. The system of the Riedl et al. invention includes an advertisement selection system (ADS) operative to select one or more advertisements and transmit one or more identifiers that uniquely identify the selected advertisements and an advertisement management system (AMS) operative to generate a playlist that identifies content. The playlist includes a user requested time shifted program and the one or more selected advertisements. A video server is operative to interpret the playlist and deliver the content to the user.
While various VOD, including NPVR systems exist, there use tends to be a personal one with a user requesting and/or otherwise retrieving content and view the content at their premises. It would be desirable if new methods could be developed which allowed VOD systems to be used in a more communal or social manner. For example, it would be desirable if a VOD user could invite another party, e.g., another user such as a friend or relative, to join in a VOD experience. It would be desirable if such an invitation to join the VOD session could be extended even in cases where the party to be invited was located at a different physical location, e.g., a different customer premise from the user initiating the VOD session. To further facilitate the communal experience, it would be desirable if methods and apparatus could be developed which would allow both an inviting party and invited party to control a VOD session in which they are jointly participating even though each party may be having the content supplied by a different server.